


'Bout The City

by ghostlyfraggle



Category: Hidden Block (Video Blogging RPF), Jet Set Radio, NormalBoots
Genre: M/M, bother me on tumblr about updating it, follow me on tumblr, im putting continue? as one character because i dont give a shit, rated t for swearing and some violence and some making out probably, updates will be irregular sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-07-25 08:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7525621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostlyfraggle/pseuds/ghostlyfraggle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two rival gangs - Normal Boots and Hidden Block - fight for control of Tokyo-To.</p>
<p>(Jet Set Radio AU. Jirard has a Completionist episode on it if you want more info about the universe)!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy! Welcome to this shitty au i spent forever on because i hate myself :^)
> 
> anyway if you want to know about the JSR universe you can either play the game yourself (it's on steam for not a whole lot of money and it's a good game i've played through it three times) or you can watch Jirard's Completionist episode on it which is also pretty good.
> 
> since this whole thing kind of centers around the radio, and a lot of songs are mentioned, i figured i'd mention a cool website called jetsetradio.live which lets you listen to JSR-style music as well as the soundtrack as though it's an actual radio station and it's pretty cool and i'm listening to it while i write sooo
> 
> anyway
> 
> enjoy my dudes

“You’re listening to…” the radio announcer’s voice came through Ian’s headphones enthusiastically. “...Jet Set Radiooooo!”

 

The radio announcer rambled on excitedly about the current drama between rival gangs in Tokyo-To as Ian looked out the train window. Beautiful wooded areas quickly turned into cracked, graffiti-covered concrete walls and apartment buildings. It was nighttime, and though the stars were out, everything looked sinister.

 

“...might want to be careful, Normal Boots!” The radio announcer continued his talk. “I’ll update you ordinary listeners if anything interesting happens. In the meantime, get a load of this sick track from Guitar Vader!”

 

The song—fast-paced and mostly in Japanese—came on, after a short burst of static.

 

As soon as the train had crossed the border into Tokyo-To, Ian had searched the radio app on his smartphone for a cool station to listen to. What he’d stumbled upon was a pirate station that seemed to be run by one guy. The station was called  _ Jet Set Radio _ , and not only did it play some pretty alright music, it also provided information on Tokyo-To’s rival gangs and police force.

 

From what Ian had gathered through the DJ’s various ramblings, there were two main, rival gangs in Tokyo-To: Normal Boots and Hidden Block. Hidden Block seemed to be both newer and less powerful than Normal Boots, but both gangs were overtargeted by police, who went so far as to send SWAT teams and goddamn tanks after these... _ CLUNK. _

 

Ian abruptly looked up, in the direction of the noise. Something had landed on top of the train car.

 

Several other people also looked up curiously. Another noise followed... _ swish, swish, swish.  _ The noise traveled along the top of the train car, towards the front of the train.

 

“We are now arriving in Benten-Cho,” a robotic voice announced to the train passengers. The train slowed. Ian was still concerned about the noise, but no one else seemed to be, so he dismissed it.

 

The train passed into a tunnel and pulled into a subway station. As it did so, another, softer  _ clunk  _ sounded through the compartment.

 

Ian, as well as many other people, squished through the train doors and out into the station. The station smelled vaguely of motor oil, soft pretzels, and spray paint. The walls were covered in graffiti, most being the same logo repeated over and over again—a pair of boots.

 

“Hey! Watch out!” A shrill voice shouted from somewhere nearby. Ian clutched the straps of his backpack and looked around for the source of the disturbance, and it didn’t take him long to find it.

 

Three teens, all with paint cans in their hands and skates on their feet, were skating through the station and towards the exit. The  _ swish  _ sounds their skates made were familiar, as Ian had heard the same sound only a few moments ago—had they been  _ on top  _ of the train?

 

Ian began to walk towards the exit, slowly so he wouldn’t catch up with the teens. The song that had been playing stopped and was replaced by the chatter of the DJ.

 

“The word on the street is that Normal Boots are in Benten-Cho, tearing the place up!” The DJ said. “But someone tattled, and the police chief, as well as his entire posse, are on their way! I’d offer some friendly advice, but you know how things are, Normal Boots.”

 

The tone in the DJ’s voice was sly and he offered no further information.

 

A new song came on, this one made with samples from other music.

 

Ian reached the surface, where he was greeted by a busy street and foul-smelling city air. He breathed it in deeply. It was the smell of his new life.

 

Stairways leading to foot bridges lined the streets, and the three teens from the subway skated on them freely. Ian observed them curiously for a second. They must have been members of Normal Boots—they were definitely causing havoc, as the DJ had described.

 

One, who had several scrapes on his light-colored face and blood staining his ripped jeans, spray painted a creepy yellow smiley-face on the side of a building. His hair was windblown and he had a wild look in his eyes.

 

Another skated through the middle of the street, looking for places to perform tricks. His skin was pale, his hair brown and oddly pristine, and he sported a stupid little smirk.

 

The final sat precariously on the railing of one of the foot bridges, looking down at the one below and smiling sweetly. He had dark skin and short hair, with thick glasses balanced on his nose. He was arguably the cutest of the three.

 

Sirens from police cars blared in the distance.

 

Ian turned to the right, towards one of the foot bridges, and began walking to the beat of the music. The member of Normal Boots sitting on the bridge’s railing seemed to be swinging his feet to the same rhythm.

 

The police sirens grew louder, and louder, until Ian was sure they were right behind him.

 

“About time,” the Normal Boots member on the bridge suddenly had a fierce light in his eyes. Without hesitation, he slid off the railing and landed solidly on the concrete below.

 

The one with scrapes on his face skated over and stopped next to him. The one with pristine hair joined them. They readied their spray cans as though they were weapons.

 

Ian ran up the stairs and halfway across the bridge to get a good look at the action.

 

Five police cars screeched to a halt in front of the trio, completely blocking the road and causing several onlookers to flee in terror. Officers tumbled out of the doors and instantly took aim with their guns. The Normal Boots members seemed unfazed.

 

In an almost choreographed manner, the trio skated forward, towards the officers. Ian gripped the railing nervously as he watched. They skated right past the officers, ignoring the loud commands being thrown at them, and began painting the police cars messily with lines of different colored paint. One line of black, one of yellow, and one of green.

 

They continued skating, past the cars and around a corner. The officers followed, and began shooting at them.

 

Ian flinched at the sudden noise.

 

Oddly, it seemed like...like a  _ game  _ to those Normal Boots guys. Like their life wasn’t on the line. Like they weren’t literally staring death in the face as they skated down a badly lit street.

 

Deciding he didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire, Ian began walking across the bridge, and then, as far away from Benten-Cho as he could logically get.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian runs into Hidden Block.

By the time Ian had escaped Benten-Cho, the sun was peaking over the horizon. He was tired, his backpack felt heavy, and he was pretty sure the radio DJ was beginning to repeat songs.

 

He’d stumbled upon some kind of construction site, with a large pit and cranes and random piles of junk. Like much of Tokyo-To, many of the blank walls had been covered in graffiti. But these tags didn’t appear to belong to Normal Boots.

 

A small burst of static played through Ian’s headphones as the song ended and the DJ began speaking.

 

“Jet Set Radiooooo!” The DJ exclaimed. “Gooooood morning listeners! The Normal Boots had a close run in with the law last night, but ultimately escaped—for now. Those guys are on Benten and Shibuya-Cho’s most wanted lists and you can bet the chief isn’t gonna be slacking on this case.”

 

He laughed throatily. Something about it was both mildly unsettling and heartwarming at the same time.

 

“Over on the other side of Tokyo, in Kogane-Cho, Hidden Block’s reeking havoc. Word’s that they’re in the residential area, doing nothing more than having a little fun on their skates—at the consequence of bystanders who don’t step out of the way in time. I think you guys are safe, for now, at least. The police are too busy with your rivals.”

 

A new song came on—Hideki Naganuma’s  _ Rock It On _ . It was rather catchy and Ian found himself tapping his foot to the beat.

 

Suddenly, through a fence gate at the other end of the construction site, two teens skated. They burst right through the gate with a  _ clang  _ and started skating around the site recklessly, but skillfully. 

 

The first one that had burst through was smiling hysterically, as though this was the best thing that had ever happened to him. His skin was pale, but kind of patchy. His hair was dark brown and styled carefully and—were his skates mismatched?

 

Yes, they were. One was pink and one was blue.

 

The second was also smiling, but not as hysterically. His brown hair was messy and whipped around in the wind. Despite how well he seemed to skate, he had a bandage on his forehead and what looked like the remnants of a cut lip. The plaid shirt tied around his waist didn’t seem like the best idea around all this machinery.

 

“Whaaa-aa-aa!” The first turned and began skating backwards, singing along to the same song Ian was listening to on Jet Set Radio. “La re-vo-lu-tion!”

 

The second one laughed at the first’s hijinks. They skated around the site until they reached an area where they could easily access the pit via a stack of old cars and jumped in.

 

Ian felt the need to follow them.

 

He  _ tried  _ to jump into the pit as gracefully as them, but stumbled on the pile of cars and nearly fell. He caught himself on a rusty driver’s side door, and scraped his hand in the process. It was minor, but he cried out in pain anyway.

 

“Rock that! Rock that!” The first teen continued singing. They’d migrated to a small building inside the pit, which looked industrial and contained a chained-off entrance to the sewers. “Rock that shit, homie!”

 

Ian wrapped his arm around his stomach and clutched the fabric of his shirt, to contain the blood from his scraped hand. 

 

He took a deep breath, and entered the building.

 

The duo instantly noticed him. The one who’d been singing screeched to a halt, and the other just let his arms hang limply at his sides, rolling slowly along as he stared at Ian.

 

With his free hand, Ian took one of his headphones out. “Uh, hey,” he said awkwardly.

 

“Hi?” The one who’d been singing said, raising one eyebrow.

 

“Are you guys listening to Jet Set Radio?” Ian asked, feeling sheepish. “You were just...singing a song that…”

 

“Yeah!” The second one exclaimed, drifting slowly towards Ian. “Are you?”

 

“Yeah,” Ian said. “I just arrived in Tokyo-To last night and stumbled upon the station while looking for something cool to listen to.”

 

“You found the right station, my friend,” the second one said. “Jet Set’s run by one of our friends. He’s pretty damn cool.”

 

“ _ Pretty cool _ ?” The one who’d been singing scoffed. “He’s fucking amazing. I’d marry his hat, solely because it’s been on his head.”

 

The second one rolled his eyes. “Got a name, kid?”

 

“Ian,” Ian said simply. “What about you two?”

 

“Jimmy,” the one who’d been singing said, as though his name was an accomplishment to be proud of.

 

“Jeff,” the second one said. He shoved his hands in his pockets casually. “You’re not an undercover cop, are you?”

 

“Do I  _ look  _ like a cop?” Ian said.

 

“Well,” Jeff began, “you followed us into a building we’re not supposed to be in, and asked us if we were listening to an illegal radio station.”

 

“Oh,” Ian said, frowning. “Well, I’m not a cop. I have no real way of  _ proving  _ it, but I’m not.”

 

“I can respect that,” Jeff skated even closer to Ian and stared straight into his eyes with a sly smirk. Ian suddenly found himself unable to keep eye contact. “We’re members of Hidden Block. So’s Luke, the DJ of Jet Set. Since you’ve been listening to him, I’ll assume you know how things are between us and Normal Boots.”

 

“I’ve gathered that you’re rivals,” Ian said. He wasn’t quite sure where Jeff was going with this.

 

“Yeah, well,” Jimmy said with a frown, “We are, but there are  _ nine  _ of them, and  _ five  _ of us.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“And then you just show up,” Jeff said. “Out of nowhere. You found Jet Set Radio, and us, somehow. It’s like it was fate or some shit.”

 

“Are…” Ian began, “...are you asking me to join your gang?”

 

“If you want,” Jeff shrugged, and turned away from Ian, skating around the room lazily. “I mean, you don’t have to. It’s just a suggestion.”

 

Ian pondered the proposal for a moment.

 

He’d come to Tokyo-To to start a new life. Did he want that life to be in a... _ gang _ ?

 

They seemed innocent enough, considering. Just skating around, having a good time, listening to music. There were only five of them, they couldn’t be  _ that  _ dangerous.

 

Oh, fuck it.

 

“You know what? I accept.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if i'm going to continue using song lyrics in this manner y'all had better get ready because in one of JSR's songs someone very sensually says "the music just turns me on"


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian learns how to skate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a quick warning: there's a brief mention of animal death in this chapter

Ian carefully followed Jeff and Jimmy through the streets of Kogane-Cho. It proved to be difficult, as they were much faster than him on their skates.

 

As they went, he noticed something... _ odd  _ about their skates. Whenever they decided to speed up, sparks flew from the wheels. They were also  _ remarkably  _ stable—steering and balancing didn’t seem to be any effort at all. Ian supposed they could have just been really good skaters, but he highly doubted that.

 

Through Kogane-Cho they went, until they reached a mildly run-down, abandoned-looking building covered in, what else, graffiti. It appeared to be some kind of old parking garage.

 

“Home sweet home,” Jeff said as they arrived. He stepped in through an old, slightly moldy wooden door and Jimmy followed. They slipped off their skates, leaving them both in only socks.

 

Ian followed awkwardly. The building was dimly lit, though the fact it had electricity at all seemed like a miracle. It smelled like spray paint, dust, old wood, and stale chips. There were about three pieces of furniture—a ripped-up couch, a folded folding chair precariously holding a door shut, and a folding card table with mysterious scratch marks covering the top.

 

Based on his next words, Jimmy must have noticed Ian’s mildly suspicious demeanor. “Um, don’t open that door,” he said, gesturing to the door held shut by a folding chair. “There’s a family of raccoons living in there. We’re waiting for them to starve to death.”

 

Ian raised his eyebrows.

 

“Only three of us actually live here,” Jeff explained, untying the shirt from around his waist, balling it up, and throwing it to the side. “Me, Caddy, and Wallid. If you end up staying here it’ll be nice ‘cuz I won’t be the only sane one anymore.”

 

Jeff walked to the other side of the room, to a shelf. On the shelf were several cobwebs, old cans, and a single, dusty pair of purple skates.

 

“I hope you like purple,” Jeff remarked, reaching up and grabbing the dusty skates. “‘Cuz this is the only extra pair of skates we have.”

 

“Do I have to skate?” Ian asked. Jeff looked at him as though it was obvious.

 

“ _ Yes _ ,” he said. “These things aren’t ordinary skates! They’re  _ magnetic  _ skates. Without these, we’d all be dead and buried in the ground.”

 

Ian wasn’t quite sure what he meant, but he decided to roll with it.

 

Jeff handed him the skates. Cautiously, he set his backpack on the floor, and shoved his phone in his pocket, before attempting to put on the goddamn death shoes.

 

He sat down on the floor, and pulled them over his feet. They were too big around the toes and too small around the heel, but they  _ were  _ the only extra pair available.

 

His first attempt at standing up resulted in complete loss of control and he fell on his ass. Jimmy and Jeff laughed at him, and he blushed, embarrassed.

 

“Here,” Jeff stepped towards Ian, extending a helpful hand. Ian gratefully grabbed Jeff’s hand, but felt a little weird as he did so. He didn’t know why.

 

“Shit,” Ian said, getting used to the feeling of balancing on the skates. Granted, it was easier than he expected (was that what the magnets did?) but it was still difficult.

 

“Try skating around,” Jeff suggested, backing up towards the couch. Ian pushed one foot behind the other, and started rolling slowly around the room. Moving was much easier than standing still, and he quickly got the hang of it.

 

He found himself smiling. Despite the fact that they didn’t fit quite right, the movement was smooth and easy and it felt really nice.

 

“Cool, right?” Jimmy said, grabbing a water bottle from a minifridge on the floor. “The magnets help you go fast and keep the ride  _ smooth _ .”

 

The way he said it almost made it seem like he was in an advertisement for something less than innocent.

 

“You’re gonna wanna practice for a while,” Jeff suggested, plopping down on the couch. A cloud of dust rose around him, but he simply waved it away casually. “Initiation isn’t  _ difficult,  _ per say, but you’re gonna want to be good on those skates.”

 

“Initiation?” Ian questioned, slowing down on his skates.

 

“This is a gang,” Jeff said, his voice suddenly becoming serious. “Not some middle school club. Don’t let it worry you, though. I’ll go easy on you.”

 

Jeff winked.

 

…

 

Over the next hour, Ian practiced on the skates around the garage. He was sure there were blisters on his feet, but he  _ wasn’t _ sure he cared. Skating was too much fun.

 

He was slightly worried about this “initiation”, though.

 

Jimmy had long ago retreated to a mysterious basement where, supposedly, others were lurking. Jeff had taken to making sure Ian didn’t kill himself, and was sitting on the couch, playing something on an old handheld console.

 

“Are you done yet?” Jeff asked boredly.

 

Ian skated around the room and over to the couch, standing in front of Jeff. “That depends,” he said. “Explain what initiation consists of.”

 

“It’s a race,” Jeff said, not looking up from his game. “You’ll be racing me through Kogane to a designated tagging point. We each get one spray can. Whoever tags the spot first wins, and you gotta stay within the borders of Kogane, but other than that, there are no rules.”

 

Ian frowned. Something about the idea of racing a skilled skater through the streets of an unfamiliar city where there was no specific track seemed only a little bit intimidating.

 

“You look scared,” Jeff looked up at Ian and smirked. “Y’know, you don’t  _ have  _ to join the gang. I can just take those skates back and…”

 

“No,” Ian said firmly. “I can do it. I’m tagging that spot first.”

 

Jeff laughed. His laugh was musical and Ian found it somewhat...attractive. “Okay, if you say so.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The race is on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies - i probably didn't describe the scenery the best. JSR has some pretty hard to describe areas (but this whole race is based on the actual kogane-cho race you can play in the game so if you really wanted to picture it perfectly you could just look for footage of that or something lmao)
> 
> anyway, i hope you enjoy the chapter!

“Here.” Jeff handed Ian... _ something _ . They were in the garage, preparing for the race. They’d even torn Luke away from DJing for the event, something which Jimmy seemed  _ very  _ happy about. The two were chatting up a storm on the other side of the room, sitting on the couch with Wallid and Caddy, the remaining members of Hidden Block whom Ian hadn’t been formally introduced to.

 

Ian observed the objects he’d been handed. Two of them looked kind of like hearing aids, and the third was clearly a phone holder that went on your arm. Ian looked at Jeff, puzzled.

 

“You put them in your ears,” Jeff gestured as though he was putting headphones on. Upon further observation, Ian noticed that Jeff already had a pair on. “Bluetooth. Luke found ‘em. They’re  _ magical _ .”

 

Ian raised his eyebrows, slightly concerned. “You’re sure they’re not going to... _ electrocute _ me or…”

 

“Dude, they’re fine,” Jeff said, turning around and grabbing a random spray can from the ground. He indicated that Ian should do the same.

 

Reluctantly, Ian popped the contraptions in his ears and wrapped the phone case around his wrist. Surprisingly, the earpieces were light, and he could still hear things around him rather well.

 

He popped his phone in the case, hooked up the bluetooth, and tuned in to Jet Set (Luke had a pre-made playlist set up for occasions like this, apparently).

 

“Quit dawdling!” Caddy shouted from the other side of the room. “I was expecting a race, not two nerds standing around.”

 

Ian frowned as he reached behind Jeff to grab a spray can. He took a moment, observing all the colors they had—it was  _ quite  _ the collection. Eventually he picked out a purple that matched his skates.

 

“You ready to lose?” Jeff smirked. Ian was getting tired of his attitude.

 

“No,” Ian said. “Because I’m  _ not  _ going to lose.”

 

…

 

They let Luke go ahead of them, to the designated tagging spot, to be a judge in case it was close.

 

The rest of them gathered about a block away from the garage, near a pier and a sewer entrance. Jimmy (who was wearing the same pair of mismatched skates, but on different feet) skated around in circles impatiently.

 

“Since you don’t know Kogane super well, I’ll at least tell you this,” Jeff said, getting into a ready stance. “Going through the sewers will be quick. Trying to navigate in between buildings? Not so quick. Luke will have marked the tagging spot with a big red arrow, it won’t be hard to miss.”

 

“Thanks,” Ian said, venom lacing his voice. He also got in a ready stance, one foot ready to propell, the other ready to roll.

 

“Jimmy?” Jeff glanced at Jimmy. Jimmy’s previously bored face lit up with excitement and he skated out of the way of the two competitors. 

 

“Ready?” Jimmy said, deepening his voice to sound like a sports announcer’s. “3…”

 

“...2…”

 

“...1…”

 

“GO!”

 

Instantly, Jeff was ahead. Ian skated as fast as he could towards the sewer entrance, but his one hour of practice time couldn’t compare to Jeff’s skill. Wheels ground against concrete violently as they entered the tunnels leading to the sewers.

 

Ian covered his mouth and nose with the hand that wasn’t clutching the spray can so he wouldn’t gag from the smell. Jeff seemed completely unbothered by it.

 

To Ian’s surprise, as they were going down a slope further into the sewers, Jeff jumped and did a complete seven-twenty with no problem. Ian felt the urge to try a trick as well, but his logical side told him “no, idiot, you’ll fall on your face and lose,” so he didn’t.

 

The tunnel opened into a large, wet, smelly room with guardrails on the sides and a big dip to gross, cloudy water in the center. Two “bridges” lead to the center—the only problem was that they didn’t connect and there was about a six foot gap between them.

 

Ian furrowed his eyebrows, determined. Jeff began grinding on the guardrails, not a care in the world.

 

They skated to the bridge, and across it (well, Jeff was on the guard rails the whole time, but Ian was convinced he was just showing off at this point). Ian realized he was going to need to jump across the gap, and that Jeff was about to, as well.

 

Ian gritted his teeth and jumped, onto the guardrail opposite of Jeff. Surprisingly, the skates latched onto the rail and helped keep him balanced. He was beginning to see the appeal.

 

The two were now neck-and-neck. They jumped across the bridge’s gap at the same time.

 

From there, it was only a matter of time before they were out of the sewers. They stayed pretty even the whole way through, though Ian still felt as though Jeff was showing off, maybe even going easy on him.

 

They exited the sewers and burst out into semi-fresh air. A construction site. Ian recognized it as the same construction site where he’d met Jeff and Jimmy only a few hours ago.

 

There were a few ways he could go from here—Ian decided to go with his instinct, and go in the direction he remembered Jimmy and Jeff coming from earlier.

 

He ran up a pile of cars and out of the construction pit, and then began skating around towards a gap in the fence surrounding the area. Jeff was very, very close behind him.

 

Though the gap in the fence, into a narrow dirt pathway. There wasn’t enough room for two people to be side-by-side, or for someone to pass another. Ian felt as if he was home free.

 

Out of the pathway and into open air, another residential area. Except, the pathway lead right onto the rooftops.

 

Without hesitation, Ian skated onto the rooftops—but it was more difficult than he’d anticipated. The magnets didn’t seem to help much here, and he struggled to balance, but he pressed on.

 

The whole residential area sloped down towards a narrow street and a wall. A bright red arrow pointing to a spot that had been painted over many times came into view, as well as Luke, who was leaning against the wall. This was the final stretch.

 

Ian gripped the spray can, put his finger on the nozzle, and shook it.

 

You were supposed to do that, right?

 

He landed on the narrow street with a  _ thud _ and heard Jeff land behind him. Shit, now he had to actually paint something. A tag.

 

Without thinking, he kind of just started spraying. A square, some lines here…

 

It looked like complete and utter shit.

 

A square with antlers. The fuck was he even thinking?

 

Jeff came up behind him, a smile playing on his lips. “You win,” he said. “Congrats.”

 

“I could swear you were going easy on me,” Ian said.

 

“And what if I did?” Jeff shrugged. “Maybe I just wanted you to be in the gang.”

 

“Why would you want  _ me  _ to be in your gang?” Ian asked.

 

Jeff, once again, only shrugged.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian almost gets hit by a car (and some other things).

The garage was...cozy. Yeah, that’s the word.

 

Downstairs was a room lovingly nicknamed the “fun room” with a foosball table, a couple of partially deflated basketballs, a SNES (with two and a half games, long story) hooked up to a CRT television, and plenty of room to skate around. The floor was cold, grey concrete, but from certain marks on the ground, Ian could tell it used to be carpeted. There was also a mini-fridge tucked away in a corner, but whether it worked or not was up for debate.

 

They took turns sleeping on the couch. The other three of them would sleep on the floor with some scratchy blankets and ripped up pillows. Jeff decided to let Ian sleep on the couch for his first night, just to easily throw him into the rotation, and though Caddy rejected this suggestion, he slept on the couch anyway.

 

(And even though it was more comfortable than the floor, he was pretty sure there were bugs in it and the fabric cover was scratchy).

 

He listened to music on Jet Set Radio as he fell asleep.

 

…

 

“Yo,” a harsh voice woke Ian up. “Moosey!”

 

“ _ Moosey _ ?” Ian asked, blinking the gunk out of his eyes. His whole body was sore from the couch, and he didn’t feel well rested in the slightest. “Where’d  _ that  _ come from?”

 

“You needed a stupid nickname,” Caddy spat. “Yesterday at the end of the race your tag was  _ a box  _ with _ antlers  _ on it. Mooses have antlers.”

 

“The plural of ‘moose’ is ‘moose’,” Ian said, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and index finger. He sat up and looked around the room. Sunlight was streaming in from one of the only two windows, and nobody else was around.

 

“Smartass,” Caddy said simply, skating casually around the room.

 

“Moron,” Ian said. “Hey, is there any food around here?”

 

“Doubt it,” Caddy said. “You could look downstairs, but I think Jimmy ate it all.”

 

“He doesn’t even  _ live  _ here.”

 

“I  _ know _ ! That’s what I’ve been  _ saying _ !” Caddy exclaimed, waving his arms animatedly as he spoke. “But Luke was all like ‘his home life is rough, let him eat here if he wants’, but  _ Luke  _ doesn’t live here _ either _ !! And he could at least bring his own food, rather than eat all of ours! Even if his home life  _ is  _ rough at least his parents pay for his food.”

 

Ian raised his eyebrows. “Forgive me if this is an insensitive thing to ask, but what’s up with Jimmy’s life at home?”

 

“Oh, it’s not  _ horrible _ ,” Caddy began, “but you know Onishima? The police chief who acts as though Hidden Block and Normal Boots are the  _ worst possible things to happen _ and sends fucking  _ tanks  _ after us? That’s Jimmy’s  _ dad. _ Luckily, he’s unaware that Jimmy rolls with us. But they still don’t have the best relationship.”

 

Ian let his mouth fall into an “O” shape.

 

“Hey! Guys!” A voice hit Ian and Caddy’s ears, and they both whipped their heads around to view the source. It was Jimmy, emerging from the “fun room”, in socks, a tank top, and pajama pants. “The police are busy with the Boots in Benten-Cho, wanna see if we can claim some turf in Shibuya?”

 

Ian and Caddy exchanged glances.

 

“I mean, sure, why not,” Caddy said with a shrug. “I got nothin’ better to do. You in, Moosey?”

 

Ian narrowed his eyes slightly. “I’ll come, if you don’t make fun of my graffiti, asshole.”

 

…

 

The three strapped on their skates, grabbed some spray cans, and headed to Shibuya-Cho: the only part of Tokyo-To Ian hadn’t been to yet.

 

Shibuya was bright, busy, and suburban. The place they’d chosen to hit was a bus terminal not too far from Kogane, which was covered in multicolored graffiti (mostly from Normal Boots).

 

They all had their earpieces in, and were tuned to Jet Set Radio. The current song was a remix of something by Frank Sinatra, and Ian couldn’t help but tap his fingers against his spray can to the rhythm.

 

Caddy skated off and started covering Normal Boots’ logos with Hidden Block’s. Ian turned to Jimmy.

 

“Do you have any ideas for some kind of stupid nickname I can call him?” Ian gestured in the general direction of Caddy.

 

Jimmy lowered his eyebrows slyly. “His first name is James. Call him that and he’ll probably pull a gun on you.”

 

“I said something  _ stupid _ , not something that’ll get me fucking killed.”

 

“He’d never kill you, because then Luke would kill him in return,” Jimmy explained. “Luke doesn’t like violence within the gang. If he wasn’t here we’d all probably be dead.”

 

Jimmy skated away, stifling a laugh. Ian sighed, wondering what he’d gotten himself into.

 

As Caddy struggled to walk up a flight of stairs in his skates and Jimmy intentionally knocked over a row of bikes, Ian rolled over to a parked bus with no inhabitants and spray painted the same box with antlers as he had yesterday. This time he refined it, rounding out the antlers, and instead of keeping it just a blank box, made it look more like an old handheld console.

 

He stepped back to admire his work and nearly got hit by a car.

 

Caddy snickered from the stairway. Ian shot him a glance that could  _ probably  _ kill someone, if his eyes had that kind of power.

 

“Can it,  _ James _ ,” Ian spat. He smirked when he saw the look on Caddy’s face at the use of his first name.

 

Ian turned and skated recklessly across the street, towards another parked bus that Jimmy was painting random bright pink squiggles on.

 

The current song on Jet Set ended, and was replaced by Luke’s voice.

 

“You’re listening to…” the enthusiastic DJ began, “Jet Set Radiooooooooo! Things are certainly busy today on the streets of Tokyo! Normal Boots are causing their usual trouble in Benten-Cho, but Hidden Block seems to have decided to take some turf from them in Shibuya! What will...hang on…”

 

Luke messed with some settings on his end, causing a burst of static. In the meantime, Jimmy finished his work of art and skated around to the third, and only unpainted, parked bus.

 

“Yo,” Luke came back on air, “I’m picking up some police communications! Get a load of this.”

 

A few more settings were messed with before an unfamiliar voice came on air.  _ “This is Onishima! We have a problem! More delinquents have been spotted at the Shibuya bus terminal. I want half of you to retreat from Benten and report over there! And when you spot those kids, DON’T LET THEM GET AWAY!” _

 

Ian looked at Jimmy. He, understandably, had fear in his eyes.

 

“Hear that, Hidden Block?” Luke came back on. “Might want to skedaddle. I’ll check in with you guys later. Until then, check out this jam from Fatboy Slim!”

 

Another tune started playing, upbeat and kind of motivational. Ian couldn’t help but think Luke had picked this song on purpose.   
  


Police sirens blared in the distance.

 

“W-we should leave,” Jimmy stuttered.

 

Ian nodded. “JAMES!” He called.

 

They began skating away without waiting for Caddy. Eventually, however, Caddy caught up to the two of them.

 

“I’m going to kill you both someday,” he said, with all the menace of an angry three year old.

 

Ian smiled. “I’m flattered.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long had major writer's block lmao ┐(‘～` )┌
> 
> i'm glad i got this chapter out of the way though because the next one's gonna be pretty gay™


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian and Jeff talk. Jimmy goes to Luke's apartment.

“Yo!” Jeff clapped a hand to Ian’s back as soon as he arrived back at the garage. “Have fun?”

 

Ian nearly fell over, but not before realizing that he was  _ much  _ taller than Jeff when Jeff was only in his socks and Ian was in skates. “I did, actually,” he said with a small smile. “The bus terminal in Shibuya’s ours, for now.”

 

“That’s awesome,” Jeff said. He walked across the room and plopped down on the couch. Ian took notice of Caddy and Jimmy descending down the flight of steps to the fun room, and had a quick mental debate about whether to join them, or Jeff on the couch.

 

Jeff glanced at him with big eyes and a slight frown. That face eventually won Ian over (plus the fun room smelled kinda funny anyway), and he sat next to him on the couch.

 

“Hey, so,” Jeff began, kind of staring at something in the distance, maybe. “You don’t have to answer this, because  _ god  _ knows we’ve all got our secrets, but what brings you to Tokyo-To?”

 

Ian exhaled loudly. “It’s...away,” he said simply, avoiding eye contact with Jeff. “Away from...people.”

 

“I get what you mean,” Jeff nodded. “I grew up here. It’s so away it’s not on any maps. My favorite band went on a tour a couple years ago and I hoped and hoped they’d come here, because  _ man  _ I wanted to see them but I couldn’t afford to travel for it, and of course, they didn’t.”

 

“I mean away in a good way, though,” Ian said. “It’s away from bad memories and people who know who I am. It’s away from my old life.”

 

“Again, you totally don’t have to answer this, but what... _ happened _ ?” Jeff leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He was wearing a half-unzipped, blue-striped hoodie, and it had started to slip off his shoulder—something which Ian was finding  _ weirdly  _ attractive.

 

“Just, you don’t have to pity me or anything, okay?” Ian said. “Back in my hometown, I was in high school. Dunno if you ever went to a high school, but it was  _ hell.  _ Way too many people looking to put someone else down, for their own self esteem. Somehow, I managed to become a punching bag. To be fair, I’m kind of easy to pick on.”

 

Jeff paused for a moment, and looked Ian over. Ian fidgeted a bit, finding this to be a little weird.

 

“No, I don’t think so,” Jeff said. “I mean, I don’t know you very well, but I can’t think of anything off the top of my head to make fun of you over.”

 

“I said you didn’t have to pity me,” Ian protested.

 

“I’m not,” Jeff said. “I genuinely think you’re a cool guy. Also, yeah, I went to high school for two years, and you’re right.”

 

Ian snorted, baffled that anyone could think that about him. He’d been told he was quiet, hard to become friends with, unattractive, a wallflower, and many, many other, meaner things, and it was a little too easy to believe them.

 

“What about you?” Ian asked. “What motivated you to join a gang?”

 

“What motivates every white teenager,” Jeff said. “I like to think I’m edgy as fuck.”

 

…

 

Luke, also known as DJ Yungtown, lived in a top floor apartment along with his makeshift radio station equipment. Wires ran through the living room, across walls, and out the window to the roof. Luckily the landlord was an oblivious old lady who had no idea of his illegal broadcasting setup, and he could keep doing what he loved to do.

 

Most of the time you could find him in the bedroom of the apartment, sitting at his sound system, picking up stray signals, talking to the microphone, or picking out songs to play. Sometimes he had fun with the mixers and created remixes of his own, and sometimes he’d even pick up broadcasts he knew he  _ wasn’t  _ meant to hear.

 

And, most of the time, he couldn’t hear you if you were to knock on the door.

 

However, he heard  _ this _ knock—there was something about it, something desperate, something familiar, something fateful, that made him queue up a few songs before getting up and answering it.

 

“Jimmy?” He opened the door. The look on the boy’s face was that of someone  _ absolutely terrified _ . Luke had never seen Jimmy cry, but he felt like he might at that moment.

 

“H-hey,” Jimmy stuttered, attempting to crack a smile. He ended up biting his lip instead. “I...I have a problem.”

 

“Do you want to come in? Is something wrong?” Luke’s face was painted over with concern. He noticed that Jimmy had a backpack slung over one shoulder, and that he was wearing his skates—mismatched as always.

 

“I’d love to, but I don’t know if I’ve been followed,” Jimmy said. He glided one of his feet forward, just slightly. “It’s just...Luke, I…”

 

His voice got all high-pitched, like one’s voice does right before tears spill.

 

Luke absolutely hated seeing him like this. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms tightly around Jimmy, pulling him close. Jimmy buried his face in Luke’s shoulder. He was shaking.

 

“Shhh, it’s gonna be okay,” Luke comforted.

 

“No it’s not,” Jimmy choked.

 

“Jimmy, I don’t know what happened, but we’ll work it out, okay?”

 

“Luke, this is bigger than you think. It’s my dad. He found out about Hidden Block. I’ve been kicked out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JEFF REBLOGGED MY ART AND SAID HE LIKED IT????? IM YELLING
> 
> hope you enjoyed the chapter lmao


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Jimmy share a moment. Jeff finds something unusual in the streets of Benten-Cho.

“Luke, this is bigger than you think. It’s my dad. He found out about Hidden Block. I’ve been kicked out.”

 

There was a pause, where Luke processed this information.

 

“Okay, okay, okay,” Luke breathed, pulling Jimmy inside and shutting the door. He locked it, and jimmied the handle just to make sure it was secure. “Tell me everything.”

 

Jimmy buried his face in his hands, struggling to balance on his skates. “I…” He began. “...y-yesterday, Caddy, Ian and I went to Shibuya and c-covered up all of Normal Boots’ tags. We left before the p-police got there, so I thought I was safe.”

 

He was barely choking out his words. Luke lead him over to the couch, careful to warn him of stray electrical cords on the ground so he didn’t trip.

 

“Continue,” Luke said, sitting next to Jimmy and leaning forward on his elbows.

 

“Some asshole f-fucking called nine-one-one, like always,” Jimmy continued. “But this  _ particular _ asshole happened to be a f-friend of my dad’s, and, w-well, he tattled.”

 

“Man, I’m so sorry,” Luke mumbled.

 

“I’m dead. I’m fucking dead,” Jimmy had to refrain from shouting. “I’ve got nowhere to live, no money, and the police force is gonna be scouring the fucking darkest corners of Tokyo-To to find me and throw me in fucking jail.”

 

Luke didn’t know what to say. He was going to let Jimmy stay at his place, obviously, but with the police searching for him, he wasn’t sure how long that was going to be possible. And it was going to be dangerous, with his radio station to manage and all.

 

“Luke,” Jimmy looked at Luke, his eyes shiny with tears. “What am I going to do?”

 

Luke sighed, and rubbed his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to erase all of Jimmy’s problems from existence, and make sure he was safe. But he couldn’t do that. He was nothing more than a teenager with a pair of roller skates and a bit of knowledge on how broadcasting systems worked.

 

“Well, first of all,” Luke said, “you’re staying here until further notice. The fire escape’s easily accessible, and I have extra clothes and food if you need.”

 

Jimmy clapped his hand over his mouth. This was too much.

 

“And  _ second  _ of all,” Luke continued, “know that we’re all here for you. We’ve all been through bad things, and it’s hard, but we’ll get through this, okay?”

 

Tears spilled over. Jimmy buried his face in the crook of Luke’s neck, and Luke held onto him tightly. Luke felt a feeling well up in his chest—something that made him feel almost like he was going to explode or go into cardiac arrest. He passed it off as nervousness.

 

…

 

Jeff looked at the object in his hands. It had obviously been circular previously, but was now broken, with sharp and pointed edges. A paper label peeled slightly from the black, plastic-y material. He ran his fingers over the carefully carved ridges in the plastic.

 

It was a record, but it obviously couldn’t be played, both because Jeff (nor any other member of Hidden Block) was in possession of a record player and because it was broken. He’d found it on the edge of Benten-Cho, lying against the curb. From the discarded spray can and fresh graffiti near it, he could only assume it’d previously been in the possession of Normal Boots.

 

“What’s that?” Ian leaned over the back of the couch and looked at the record in Jeff’s hands. “Looks...broken.”

 

“It is,” Jeff said, turning it over and picking at the paper label. “It’s some kind of record. I found it in Benten-Cho.”

 

“Why’d you pick it up? What’s so important about a broken record?” Ian asked.

 

“I…” Jeff paused, furrowing his eyebrows. “...don’t know.”

 

Ian vaulted over the back of the couch and sat next to Jeff. “Gimmie that,” he said, snatching the record out of Jeff’s hands. He squinted at the label, trying to make out what it said.

 

“Something  _ contract _ ,” Ian read. “It’s probably just some indie band.”

 

“I’unno, man,” Jeff took the record back, out of Ian’s hand. His fingers brushed against Ian’s slightly, and he felt heat rush to his face. He tried to ignore it. “Looks pretty important to me.”

 

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Ian said, crossing his legs. “I didn’t come up here just to talk about some broken record you found. I wanted to…”

 

_ Riiiing. Riiiing.  _

 

“Hang on,” Jeff reached into his back pocket, still holding the record with one hand. His phone was ringing. On the screen was a zoomed in, JPG-y picture of Luke with crossed eyes, and the name across the top read  _ DJ Yungtown _ . “Yo.”

 

Ian frowned, staring at Jeff’s face as he talked.

 

“...what? Shit, dude...yeah, I’ll do that...wait, could you report on something for me? I wanna know if anyone else has found something similar...a piece of a broken record. The label says ‘contract’...let me know. Yeah. Thanks. Bye.”

 

“What’s up?” Ian asked.

 

“Well, he didn’t give me details,” Jeff began, placing his phone on the table in front of him. “But Jimmy’s staying at his place for now, and he warned us to be extra cautious of police. He’s also going to report on Jet Set Radio about the record, to see if anyone has the other pieces.”

 

“No one’s going to,” Ian said, rolling his eyes. “It’s just a broken record, dude. Nothing special.”

 

“Doesn’t hurt to see,” Jeff said. He set the record down next to his phone. “Oh, before Luke called me you were going to say something.”

 

“Oh, yeah,” Ian said nervously. He’d finally worked up the courage to tell Jeff something he’d been meaning to tell him since the moment he’d joined the gang. He was worried they’d kick him out or bully him like the people in his old town used to, so he put it off. But now the moment was gone. There’s no way he’d be able to say it.

 

“I forgot what I was going to say,” Ian lied with a shrug.

 

“Mmmkay,” Jeff hummed. He picked his phone back up and turned on the bluetooth, presumably to listen to Jet Set. Ian supposed he’d do the same.

 

As the music played, Ian ran through best case and worst case scenarios in his head (because that would obviously reduce his nervousness and not give him more anxiety  _ at all _ ). He could imagine what Jeff might say if the conversation went positively.  _ “I’ll accept you no matter what,”  _ he’d say,  _ “and I’m sorry that’s why people bullied you.” _

 

And then, if the conversation went negatively, he might say something along the lines of  _ “It’s wrong to be like that,”  _ and then  _ “get out of the gang. We don’t accept people like you here.” _

 

He closed his eyes tightly. Jeff wouldn’t do that to him. Jeff wasn’t like the people back home...was he?

 

“Jet Set Radiooooooooo!” Luke’s voice popped on, and Ian snapped out of his thoughts to listen. “A caller has informed me of something rather interesting he found in Benten-Cho, and he wants to know if any other listeners have found anything similar! It’s a piece of a broken record, and all he can make out on the label is the word ‘contract’. If you know anything about this mysterious vinyl, gimmie a call or shoot me a letter!”

 

Ian and Jeff exchanged glances.

 

“While we wait for responses, check out this funky tune from Studio Killers!”

 

Studio Killers’  _ Jenny  _ began to play. Ian sighed, finding himself unable to relax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's not actually a song from the JSR soundtrack I just like it (also it's about wlw so)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter: a new character.

A couple of days passed. The police didn’t appear to be doing a whole lot about the Jimmy situation. The members of the gang who lived in the garage spent most of their days down in the fun room, playing Mario Kart or simply chatting. It was assumed that Jimmy and Luke were safe at their apartment.

 

...and then there was that thing Ian still needed to work up the courage to tell Jeff (and, like, probably the rest of the gang too, but baby steps).

 

However, a change of pace was presented when Luke reported that someone had another piece of the broken "contract" record. Luke didn't give a name or a location, but he said he'd talked to them in person and would bring them by the garage that night.

 

Jeff was very impatient. He paced around the fun room, occasionally stopping to lean against a wall or sit down. At the rate he was going, he'd wear a hole in the floor, and the gang didn't have any way to repair something like that, so for the room's sake Ian hoped Luke would arrive soon.

 

"Do you think it's, like, cursed or something?" Jeff postulated.

 

"It's a fucking broken record you found on the side of the road," Caddy said, not tearing his eyes away from Mario Kart on the TV. "This isn't an  _ anime _ ."

 

"But like, what if it  _ was  _ cursed," Jeff continued. "What do you thi—"

 

"GUYS!" Luke's voice hit their ears. He was yelling at them from upstairs.

 

"DOWN HERE!" Ian exclaimed. Three pairs of feet came down the basement stairs. The first two people emerged, Luke and Jimmy. But the third?

 

Ian's eyes widened.

 

Medium-length, purple colored hair. Tattoos scattered across her chest and arms. A pair of black glasses perched on her nose.

 

" _ Roses _ ?" Ian asked, pushing past Jeff and towards the newcomer.

 

"Ian?" Roses asked, stepping towards Ian. "Long time no see."

 

"You know her?" Luke questioned, pointing at Roses.

 

"We went to the same middle school," Ian explained. "Grind City Junior High. She went off and got involved in skating—I didn't care for it at the time."

 

"But I see you do  _ now _ ," Roses taunted. "You're in a gang? Never would have expected that, honestly."

 

"Purple? Really?" Ian eyed her hair. "That's  _ my  _ color."

 

Roses rolled her eyes. "You can't stop people from using the color purple."

 

"I can do wh—" Ian was cut off.

 

"Okay, okay, enough," Jeff said. "You two can flirt later. I want to know about the record."

 

Roses raised her eyebrows. "Are you serious?  _ Flirting _ ?" She glanced from Ian, to Jeff, and back. "Have you tol—"

 

"No, just, be quiet," Ian semi-whispered. "The record. You found another piece of it? All the way in  _ Grind City _ ?"

 

"Yeah," Roses said. "There's this group—the Rokkaku Group—they've been terrorizing Grind City. Their graffiti is  _ everywhere _ , ugh, it's so ugly I can barely stand to look at it. They've been capturing people from other gangs. I was almost captured as well, but I fought my way out of the situation and managed to snatch this."

 

She held out her piece of the broken record. The label said  _ Devil's _ .

 

Roses and Jeff fit the two pieces together.  _ Devil's Contract _ .

 

"See! I told you it was cursed!" Jeff exclaimed.

 

"It's not fucking cursed," Caddy said.

 

"Keep you eyes on the game!" Wallid yelled at him.

 

Ian rolled his eyes at them. "Roses, you said you were almost captured. Are you okay?"

 

"I'm  _ fine _ , Ian," Roses said, with the tone of a teenager speaking to their parents. "I got off with nothing worse than a few scrapes, maybe a bruise. Nothing more serious than I usually get while skating."

 

Ian eyed her warily. She shrugged.

 

"...anyway," Jeff said, "even if it's  _ not  _ cursed, something's up with this record, if this...Ro-rock-a or whatever group had a piece of it."

 

"Rokkaku," Roses corrected. "You found your piece in Benten-Cho, right? Was anyone around?"

 

"I figured the Normal Boots dropped it," Jeff explained. "It was near some of their graffiti. Fresh, too. A discarded spray can was also near it."

 

"I don't see why some random gang would have had it," Roses contemplated, "are you  _ sure  _ it was Normal Boots graffiti? It could have been the Rokkaku Group."

 

"Positive," Jeff said, "unless the Rokkaku group's tags are pairs of boots."

 

The look on Roses' face could only be described as many question marks.

 

"You know, the Boots aren't exactly hard to find," Jimmy chimed in. "We could just look for them and  _ ask  _ them why they had the record."

 

There was a pause. All eyes were on Jimmy. He shrugged.

 

"...okay, not a bad idea," Luke said. "But you're staying  _ here,  _ where it's safe. Who else wants to go?"

 

Roses raised her hand. Ian stared at her before begrudgingly doing the same.

 

"It'll be easier if we go in two groups," Jeff observed. "I can go with Ian, and someone else can go with Roses, since neither of them know their way around Tokyo-To very well."

 

"What? No," Ian protested. He wasn't entirely sure  _ why  _ he was protesting, either. Jeff was completely right, neither Ian nor Roses knew their way around Tokyo-To, and it'd be dangerous if the two of them went together. Just, something about roaming the streets  _ alone  _ with Jeff made his stomach twist into knots.

 

"Is something wrong?" Jeff asked, concerned.

 

"No, never mind," Ian looked at the floor. "It's fine."

 

"...all right then," Jeff said. "Who's going with Roses?"

 

"I can," Luke volunteered. He pointed at Wallid and Caddy. "You two. Don't let Jimmy out of your sight."

 

"I'm not fucking  _ twelve _ , Luke!" Jimmy protested. "I can take care of myself."

 

"You're  _ basically  _ twelve," Caddy said. Jimmy frowned.

 

"Uh, do what they say," Luke said, as though he was instructing a child he was leaving with a babysitter, "don't destroy the place. We'll be back ASAP."

 

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Okay, dad."

 

"W-we'll, uh, see you guys later," Luke stuttered, suddenly flustered for some reason. He turned and ran up the stairs as Jimmy smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to 100% Jet Set Radio and it's going to be the fucking death of me
> 
> tfw you get hit by a bus and then end up on top of the bus amiright


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff and Ian run into a Normal Boots member.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh...whoops? I literally forgot this existed until an anon reminded me. 
> 
> anyway enjoy!!

"I feel like there's something about you and Roses you're not telling me."

 

Jeff and Ian skated through Kogane-Cho, towards Benten-Cho, in search of Normal Boots. The sun was rapidly slipping down the horizon, and Ian had a feeling that it was going to be dark before they made it back.

 

"I feel like you're misunderstanding," Ian furrowed his brows as he spoke, skating against a wall in an attempt to do something mildly cool.

 

"C'mon, it's, like, a  _ perfect  _ rom-com novel scenario," Jeff continued. "Middle school friends find each other again when some crazy gang terrorizes their home city. You could get into all  _ kinds  _ of rebellious romantic shit together."

 

Ian rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Sounds great. Except I'm not into girls, so, uh, no."

 

The words escaped his mouth before he had the chance to think about them. Jeff paused in his skating, letting gravity take over for the moment.

 

"Oh," he said simply, and Ian braced himself for the worst. "So in a rom-com novel, you'd be Roses' gay friend."

 

"I guess," Ian said, slowing his pace to match Jeff's so they were skating next to each other. "But you're, like, okay with that?"

 

"Dude, of  _ course _ ," Jeff said. "Also, you're not the only gay guy in Hidden Block. There's Jimmy, and I'm like ninety percent sure Luke isn't straight, and I'm pansexual myself, so..."

 

Ian's jaw went slack. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of Jeff liking guys, and he didn't quite know why.

 

"Yeah, Luke doesn't seem straight," he smirked, trying to keep his pulse under control as they reached the edge of Kogane-Cho. The police didn't seem to be around. In fact,  _ no one  _ seemed to be around. The streets were close to empty.

 

"Did you  _ see  _ the way him and Jimmy were interacting today?" Jeff commented, gracefully jumping a fence. Ian attempted it, but did so quite clumsily and fell on his stomach. Jeff laughed at him before continuing his previous statement. "They were practically flirting. I can't help but wonder what they get up to in that apartment of theirs."

 

"I'd rather  _ not  _ know," Ian said, accepting the helpful hand Jeff had offered. He grabbed Jeff's hand tightly, feeling his heart leap in his ribcage at the simple contact. 

 

_ Swish swish. _

 

The sound of a pair of skate caught Jeff's attention and he let go of Ian's hand as soon as he was on his feet again. The two of them skated around the corner, to find a scared-looking teen with olive skin and dark hair.

 

Jeff tilted his head, apparently confused. Ian glanced at him.

 

"Normal Boots?" Jeff questioned. "What are you doing on  _ our  _ terf?"

 

The Normal Boots member skated up towards Jeff, seemingly frantic. "Looking for you. And holy shit, am I glad I found you."

 

"Something's wrong," Jeff whispered to Ian.

 

"Golden Rhinos. Rokkaku. They're gone, they took them, they—" the Normal Boots member spoke almost too quickly to comprehend. Jeff held out his hands.

 

"Whoa, slow down," he said, "did the Rokkaku group kidnap members of Normal Boots?"

 

"Nick, Josh, Jon, Satch...everyone except Shane, Austin and me," the Normal Boots member said. "We escaped, but barely."

 

"Hang on—" Jeff began, and Ian had a feeling he knew what Jeff was going to ask. "—Did one of you guys drop a piece of a record that said 'Contract' on it?"

 

"Maybe, I dunno," the Normal Boots member shrugged. 

 

Jeff sighed, looking up at the sky. "Okay. That's helpful," he said sarcastically. "Anyway, do you wanna come back to our HQ and figure out what to do now? This is serious."

 

"O-okay."

 

...

 

The three of them—Ian found out later that the Normal Boots member's name was Paul—skated back to the garage.

 

Paul called up the remaining two Normal Boots members so they could come to the garage as well. They showed up about a half hour later.

 

Shane had short hair and a perpetually grumpy face. His clothes were that lazy sort of athletic that dancers wore, loose and comfortable.

 

Austin looked...not good. Ian had seen him before, during his first run in with Normal Boots. He'd been painting a creepy smiley face on the side of a building. He had bruises on the side of his face as well as a bandage on his cheek, windblown hair, and ripped jeans. He looked like he'd been in a fight.

 

They all introduced themselves to each other before continuing.

 

"First of all," Jeff said, doing finger guns. "Austin looks like he needs medical attention."

 

"I'm fine." Austin frowned.

 

"What the hell happened to you?" Ian asked.

 

"I got in a tussle with the Golden Rhinos," Austin said, swiping a bit of hair out of his eyes. "Not a good idea by the way. Don't do that."

 

"I heard Paul mention them," Jeff began, "who  _ are  _ the Golden Rhinos?"

 

"A group of assassins," Shane said grimly, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "Hired by the Rokkaku group."

 

Ian and Jeff exchanged glances; Wallid went wide-eyed on the other side of the room.

 

"I'll take your advice on that," Jeff said, looking at Austin. "Anyway, I was serious about the medical attention thing. I think we've got some bandages downstairs."

 

He forcefully grabbed Austin's shoulder, dragging him towards the basement. Ian felt a pang of something. Like he wished that he was Austin.

 

Suddenly, Luke and Roses burst in the door.

 

"Jeff called us," Luke said.

 

"Yeah, I know, I was there," Ian said. Jeff had made a point of calling them while they were on their way to the garage with Paul in tow. "Normal Boots has a problem."

 

"How many of you were kidnapped?" Roses asked.

 

"Six," Shane replied. "And we don't know where they were taken or anything. They could be dead for all we know."

 

"Okay, Mister Sunshine," Ian said sarcastically. 

 

They continued discussing, but Ian felt distracted. Jeff was still down in the basement with Austin.

 

And Ian didn't know why it bothered him so much.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hidden Block and what's left of Normal Boots attempt to chase the Rokkaku group out of Benten-Cho.

The next morning, Ian woke up with a stiff back and little energy.

Everyone seemed tired. Jimmy and Luke had slept at the garage that night, and Jet Set Radio was now nothing but static, as Luke hadn't prepared this far in advance.

They'd discussed a plan the night before; a plan to take Benten-Cho back from the Rokkaku group.

It was risky and had the very real possibility of failing, as the Golden Rhinos had guns and grenades while all Hidden Block had was spray cans (other than Caddy's guns, but they were limited in ammo and who could use them). Austin seemed to oppose the plan, having faced the Golden Rhinos before, but Jeff convinced him otherwise.

Jeff and Austin had seemingly clicked instantly after they met, and it made Ian feel...weird. He blamed it on them being in rival gangs; rival gang members shouldn't be friends.

At least, that was what he thought until Austin talked to him before they set out on their mission.

Ian sat on the couch. Austin jumped into the spot next to him, the corners of his lips turned up as though he knew something, something Ian didn't but should've.

"So," Austin said. "Jeff told me something this morning."

"Okay," Ian said simply, indicating he wasn't interested (when in reality, he was very, very interested).

"And I'm totally not supposed to tell you," Austin said, his voice getting higher-pitched with each word he spoke. "But it's really cute and I really wanna tell you."

Ian looked at him oddly.

"He told me that he—"

"Hey! Let's go!" Luke's voice interrupted Austin. He huffed.

...

"We should split into groups of at least three," Austin had said before they left. "We'll be able to better fight off the Rhinos that way."

And that was how Shane ended up being the third wheel to Jimmy and Luke.

The romantic tension between the two of them was painfully obvious—every conversation was basically flirting and it goddamn it, it was annoying. 

The three rudies skated the streets of Benten-Cho, searching for Rokkaku and Golden Rhino tags to cover up. The Rokkaku group's tags were lime green and an eyesore, while the Golden Rhinos seemed to stick to placing gold-colored rhino statues in inconvenient places.

Shane tagged a row of rhino statues with his signature tag, a question mark. Luke and Jimmy followed close behind, tagging the walls with their own tags and shoving each other playfully in attempt to mess up the other's painting.

Shane rolled his eyes at them before skating towards a garage door covered in the Rokkaku group's graffiti. He began to spray another question mark onto the tag, but...

Beep...beep...beep...beep...beep, beep, beep, beep...

What was that?

Panicked, Shane skated away from the tag as quick as he could, sparks flying from his skates.

Beep beep beep beep beepbeepbeepbeep

BOOM

An explosion suddenly rocketed Shane forward, sending him crashing into Luke and Jimmy. The three of them toppled over onto the pavement, Luke and Jimmy breaking Shane's fall.

"What the hell?" Jimmy said, his voice muffled by the ground.

"There was a bomb," Shane explained.

"No shit, sherlock," Jimmy started to try and get up, but Shane was in the way.

"Are you both okay?" Luke asked sincerely. Shane felt perfectly fine, having had his fall broken by Luke and Jimmy. He got up off the two of them, standing up and brushing himself off.

Jimmy, on the other hand, didn't appear to be perfectly fine. He pushed up off the ground, revealing hands that were bloody and scraped. His face wasn't in much better shape, a long scrape running down his cheek, and his lip split.

"Whoa," Luke said, sitting up and turning towards Jimmy. "You're bleeding."

He grabbed Jimmy's face underneath his jaw gently. Shane turned around and skated off, really not caring about either of them.

A drop of blood ran down Jimmy's chin and neck. Luke used a thumb to wipe it away, but it only smeared around and made Jimmy's face messy.

"We need to get you back to the garage," Luke said.

"It doesn't even hurt, I swear," Jimmy said, though the way his voice caught at the end of the sentence proved he was lying.

"Jimmy..." Luke trailed off. 

"Look! You're hurt too!" Jimmy tried to divert Luke's attention, pointing to Luke's temple where he had a scrape of his own.

"Look at your hands, Jimmy!" Luke exclaimed, taking his hands away from Jimmy's jaw and gripping onto his wrists instead. Jimmy's hands were coated in blood and rocks from the pavement. "There's no way you're going to be able to hold a spray can like this."

Jimmy reached for his spray can, sitting on the ground beside him. "No, I can, see..." gingerly, he attempted to curl his hand around the object, but he couldn't without wincing.

Luke frowned.

"Yeah, I thought so. Back to the garage," Luke said.

"Nooooooo," Jimmy whined.

"Why are you protesting?" Luke asked.

"Because I want to help!" Jimmy exclaimed.

"You can't. You can't even pick up a spray can, you idiot."

Jimmy sighed. Luke was right.

"C'mon, let's get you home before you die of blood loss," Luke said. He helped Jimmy onto his feet.

"I can go back by myself," Jimmy said. "You stay here. Help the guys."

"No," Luke refused.

"We're not doing this again."

"I'm not leaving you."

"Why not?"

"B...because."

"Luke."

Luke paused.

"Listen," he said, gently grabbing Jimmy's wrists. "I care about you, okay? Just..."

"OH, WILL YOU TWO JUST FUCKING KISS ALREADY?" Shane yelled.

Both Jimmy and Luke whipped their heads around to observe the source of the noise. Shane had already skated away.

Without hesitation, Luke turned back to Jimmy and kissed him hard on the lips, the taste of metallic blood filling his mouth. He pulled away quickly.

"What the fuck?" Jimmy said immediately. 

"Sorry," Luke said.

"No, no, I meant 'what the fuck' in a good way," Jimmy said. "Yeah, I'll go back to the garage with you. Okay."

...

Meanwhile, Jeff couldn't find Austin anywhere.

"Austin!" Jeff called, skating the streets with Ian close behind. They'd turned their backs for a second—and suddenly, the Normal Boots member was nowhere to be found.

"Face it, he ditched us," Ian said gloomily.

"No, no..." Jeff trailed off, turning a corner. 

Around the corner was Austin, talking to a member of the Rokkaku group.

And Jeff had arrived just in time to see him hand over a piece of the broken Devil's Contract record.

"Austin!" Jeff yelled, skating over at light speed. "What the hell are you doing?"

Austin turned around, a puppy-dog look on his face. "I'm sorry," he said, "but we are in rival gangs, after all."

Jeff came to a halt right in front of Austin. The Rokkaku group member hopped into a black car and sped away.

"I traded the last two pieces of the Devil's Contract record in exchange for the release of the rest of Normal Boots," Austin explained. "I'm sorry, but, not really. I get my friends back, and maybe the world gets taken over as the result of a demon summon, but oh well, am I right?"

"You mean...that record..." Ian said, skating up behind Jeff and screeching to a halt.

"Summons a demon when played, yes," Austin explained. "So, the world might end soon, and that's on me. Whoops."

Jeff facepalmed.

"Well, see ya," Austin said, skating off.


End file.
